038 : 009 Complexus

Session 1

Breathing ramp up

Warm-up

Then…

Using a barbell or axle work to the heaviest possible complex of:

2 x shoulder-to-overhead

4 x hang clean

6 x barbell/ pendlay row

8 x deadlift

AMRAP push-up on bar

*eliminate movements from complex the round after you fail to hit prescribed reps

Then…

Perform maximum unbroken sets at 50% of finishing weight

Immediately into…

Walking or seated down regulation

Until you reach a comfortable nasal:

4-6-8-0 breathing cadence.

The Ramp Up

3 rounds of-

5 x Triangle breathing 7:7:7:0

20 x Power breathing 1:0:1:0

1 x Full inhale 

1 x Max hold

1 x Full exhale

1 x Max hold

Continuing on from its previous deployment in Progressive Attention, Progressive Tolerance and Vis in Motus— the intentional breathing ramp-up is designed not just to balance your blood gasses and begin up regulating your state, ready for what’s ahead, but also to bring your conscious attention fully into where you are now and the task that lays ahead. An often overlooked aspect of ‘warming-up’ is that the preparation should be as much psychological as it is physiological. Bringing your mind to where your feet are, as it were. This is a good a tool as any.

Inhale, focus on filling from the bottom up; use your nose and  breathe deep into the bottom of your trunk and lower back, before working your way up into your chest and then your upper back. Your rib cage should expand in all directions. For power breathing execute a quick but full and powerful inhale through your nose, then simply open your mouth wide and ‘dump’ the air out on the exhale. Get into a quick rhythm. After 20 reps perform 1 final full inhale through the nose, filling your trunk, and then hold. Pay attention to air hunger cues— little tremors, swallowing, fidgeting. Before they get too strong, perform a long exhale under control through your nose, completely emptying the tank, then hold until you feel strong air hunger. Return to triangle breathing and repeat for 3 rounds.

The Complex

Use a barbell, or if you have access— a thick bar/ axle. After a thorough warm-up start with an empty bar and complete a round of the complex: strict press>hang clean> pendlay row> deadlift > push-ups on bar. At this point perform a strict press and a full pendlay row (barbell comes from a dead stop on the ground on each rep). You don’t need to hit true failure on the push-ups, just go until you feel satisfied with your effort.

Rest as necessary and at this point add weight. Be realistic with your weight jumps and measure them in accordance with how far you think you’re going to be able to go. As the weight creeps up you can switch to a push press and/or a jerk and begin to limit the ROM on the rows to more of a bodybuilding style row from the knees.

Once you can no longer hit the prescribed reps on any given movement (ie. you miss the second rep of shoulder-to-overhead) eliminate that movement in the next round and continue on. The end result should be an 8rm deadlift for the day (after establishing complex rep maxes for all of the preceding lifts).

As I said, be realistic and discerning with how you reach this total, you want to get enough volume on the other lifts to move the needle, not just slap on enough plates that you can no longer hang clean within 2 sets of starting. This isn’t a race to a heavy deadlift, if that was the intent we would just write ‘establish 8rm deadlift’. The intent is to reap the benefits of a mechanical ‘drop set’ of movements, and build strength endurance both locally, systemically and mentally. If you have a huge jerk, maybe work up in 10kg increments (adding 10lb each side, each round for my trans-Atlantic friends). If you know you won’t be hitting massive weights overhead, consider smaller increments. Keep the push-ups at the high end of your capabilities, but don’t burn yourself out with these. Focus on trying to bend the bar on each rep. Grip the bar as hard as possible, but simultaneously try to bring your hands together as you press up, creating internal torque.

Once you have found your 8rm deadlift for the day, rest and strip the bar down to 50% of that total. After 3-4 minutes go for an AMRAP effort. Your aim is to get through as many back-to-back rounds as possible without resting.

Focus on your breathing throughout. Inhale, brace. Exhale, explode. One breath, one rep. Stay with the count. Stay with what’s happening in your body, fact check the story you’re telling yourself about what’s happening in your body.

Recovery/ Down Regulation

Come into laying or seated position with your hips raised above your knees if you can. If not, simply move slowly and deliberately as you transition into whatever’s next in your day. Wrap your full attention around your breath, observe where it’s at and begin to slowly nudge it downwards with a gentle but deliberate inhale, creating a little bit of space at the top of the breath, before slowly letting it back out under full control. Aim to work towards a breathing cadence of 4-6-8-0 and spend as long here as you can spare.